"Master, isn't it too soon for them?" Yerin asked upon seeing Keiichi's confused expression.
"They better be mentally prepared as soon as possible. That demon belongs to the inferior layer of the abyss, and he's an important person there. I'm sure Keiichi will kill him, so trouble will come in the future. Besides, I didn't tell him everything. After all, I don't want him to have existential crises." Yato said with a smile.
He didn't lie when he said that the Abyss was infinitely larger than Keiichi's universe, although Keiichi's universe is also infinite. The abyss is an existential plane of 3 'layers'; each layer has a larger dimension than the previous one. The inferior layer has 4 dimensions, just like Keiichi's universe. The middle layer has 5, and the superior layer has 6. Although the layers are separate and independent, but all together form what people call an "abyss".
"The abyss, huh? The Lords of that place went to war with the Spirit Palace. Apparently, they won." Yerin commented.
The abyss was a troublesome plane, or rather, the Lords of the abyss were, as they loved picking fights with other planes.
"Master, don't worry. If any of these insects dare to get in your way, I will destroy them myself." Yerin clenched her fists with a murderous look.
"What a dangerous look you have there." Yato pulled her waist with a devilish smile. "That's not too bad. The Abyss won the Spiritual Palace. Then why don't we do a fair rematch between the two?"
Yato didn't give a damn about the Lords of the abyss or what they planned to do. If they tried to interrupt their fun, then death would be the best course of action. However, he likes to see Yerin being so protective.
"Master, what do you mean?" Yerin asked, blushing as she hugged his chest.
"Well, it's time for them to go to another world, so I'm going to select a special one for them." Yato's smile.
'Let's continue with the tutorial.' Yato looked at the heart of fire in the corner of the room. Yes, the heart of fire is in his possession, but he was not interested in that.
'A small gift, but you still haven't met the requirements.' He thought of Keiichi.
"Master, I'm sure Sakura hasn't unleashed her full potential yet, so this mission will be important for her," she said.
"What's limiting her is…"
"Her values," Yato replied. "The potential of her unique ability is incredible, but her values impede her thoughts."
"That's troublesome…" Yerin muttered with a sigh.
"Don't worry, she's still growing. One day, she'll understand that a universe is a hostile place for people who crave absolute power. By the way, I see you're interested in the girl, huh."
"Well… she reminds me of a certain person."
-
*Sneeze!*
'Has anyone been talking about me lately?' Sakura thought after putting away her school supplies. Her days at the new school are quite pleasant. After all, she earns money.
'The new app is also a great success, a jackpot.'
Sky-Videos got millions of downloads in just one day. This boosted the company, but sudden growth would also have some problems. Chiyo was helping Sakura manage the company as she already had a lot of experience with this. Despite being the owner, Sakura didn't like to stay all day signing papers or sitting in an office, so the best solution was to hire people to do it for her.
'Well, I can sense people's emotional state and detect their intentions, too. So it's easy to know if someone is trustworthy or not.'
'My CEO must have a full schedule right now,' She thought.
Sky Corporation is already becoming one of the biggest companies in the entire country. A glorious ascent and at incredible speed. Speedrunners would be proud.
'Well, I had a little help.' She thought of Yato. Yes, she had gotten help from Yato to speed up the process, but creating the apps was still her credit.
As Sakura walked towards the school gate, an unfamiliar hand touched her shoulder.
'Well, of course, problems would arise.'
"Sakura Kanami, can we have a private conversation?"
Sakura looked at the girl with a curious and confused expression. The girl was nowhere near the most beautiful she had ever seen. To be honest, her appearance was quite ordinary. Although she has beautiful long brown hair, her face and body are unlikely to make a memorable first impression.
'That's not the script that was in my head. Isn't the student council president supposed to be the biggest beauty in the school or something?'
Yes, this girl was one of the student council members.
"I know what you're thinking. You thought I was an enviable beauty that would make most men's jaws drop." The girl said with a smile.
"N-N-No! I was just surprised to meet you." Sakura answered hastily.
"You don't have to lie. I've seen that expression many times. My name is Kasumi Suzuki, I'm on the student council, and I'm running for president. Nice to meet you."
Kasumi is a girl with long brown hair and black eyes. Her skin is fair. Her height was above average, and she wore clothes that covered most of her body.
'So she's still not the president,' Sakura thought as she studied Kasumi. 'No hostile or malicious intent, either.'
"Well, Kasumi-san… what do you want to talk to me about?"
"Can we talk privately?"
"OK."
Kasumi took Sakura to her office and gave her some tea. After serving the tea, Kasumi sat in her chair with a serious expression.
"Sakura-san, do you know the Suzuki family?"
"Huh? Isn't that family full of ramifications?" Sakura asked with a touch of uncertainty. As far as she knew, the Suzuki family is one big family, but it has many branches.
"Yes, the Suzuki family is one of the five big families in the country, but the weakest due to having many branches. The power of the Suzuki family has weakened significantly, and its growth is slow compared to the other five big families." Kasumi said.
"Well, a family with so many branches sure is troublesome," Sakura said as she sipped her tea.
The power of the Suzuki family is very divided, so it is difficult to make decisions without consulting all the leaders.
"So, what do you want from me?" Sakura decided to skip to the main subject.
"I want you to help me," Kasumi replied with a sigh.
"And why should I?" Sakura thought that Kasumi wanted to take advantage of her, but…
"Sakura Kanami, owner of Sky Corporation and creator of today's most bombastic apps. Surprisingly, the Kanami family kicked you out of the house with such talent. Was it planned?" Kasumi asked with a smile.
"How did you know that?..." Sakura hadn't expected the situation to get out of hand so abruptly.
"Well, I may not look like it, but I'm a skilled hacker. I was curious about the identity of Sky Corporation's owner, but I couldn't break into the company's system, so I decided to hack into their CEO's cell phone.
Sakura's expression turned sour. She hardly ever visited the company as she wanted to hide her face. The only person who kept her contact was the CEO, so she should be more cautious with his information.
'Damn, I was careless.'
Despite being cornered, she still tried to maintain a calm expression.
"What are you going to do with that? Threaten me?" she asked in a menacing tone.
"Of course not! I just wanted to show what I'm capable of. I called you here to make a deal." Kasumi responded quickly.
"Huh? Deal?"
"Yes. I want you to help me become the new leader of the Suzuki family and unify the whole family." Kasumi said as she smiled.
"This is very difficult… but not impossible. However, what do I gain from it?" Sakura asked as she frowned.
"Sakura-san, why are you hiding from your family that you own Sky Corporation?"
Kasumi's words made Sakura's eyes widen in disbelief. Her heart started to beat faster, and her hands shook for a brief moment.
This reaction did not go unnoticed by Kasumi's eyes.
"How-"
"All the other families know that you were almost disowned after the incident with your younger sister. However, you are still one of the family's three heirs, so why? Sky Corporation is becoming such a huge company that will soon get out of hand, and the other families are sure to act. At first, I thought the Kanami family might be hiding that they own Sky Corporation, but that would make no sense. The Kanami family is one of the most powerful families in the country, having even military power. Why would such a powerful family hide something? Besides, I've already met your parents, and despite being smart, they're arrogant."
"II don't know what you're talking about." Sakura tried desperately to get away from the subject.
"To strengthen my hypothesis, I found out that you haven't visited your parents' house for over 3 years."
Sakura knew that there were spies in the Kanami family, but they were all low-ranking and would never have access to important information. However, the fact that she didn't visit her parent's house was not considered important.
"Do you hate them? They separated you from your sister-"
*Bam!*
"What do you want from me?!" Sakura slammed her hand on the table with a furious expression. Her emotions spiraled out of control, and she released an overwhelming presence that made Kasumi's body go rigid.
'What is it?!' Kasumi thought as she broke out in a cold sweat.
"...Sakura-san, calm down. I'm here to help you. Your parents are too greedy, they'll definitely try to take everything from you." Kasumi said while breathing heavily.
"What do you mean?" Sakura calmed down a bit as she listened to Kasumi's words.
"I bet your parents already sent someone to buy Sky-corporation, but when they realize they won't be able to acquire it... Sakura-san, you don't have much time."
Kasumi knew that the Kanami family would never let Sky Corporation fall into the hands of other families. Even though the owner is her own daughter, they...
Sakura's eyes gleamed in understanding.
"They… are my parents. I'm sure they would never do anything serious to me." She replied, while clenching her fists.
"Aggression is not just physical, Sakura-san. You don't lose anything by helping me. I will help you if the Kanami family tries something, and I will also spread your apps in other countries where my family has power."
"...You can do it?" Sakura asked with a dubious expression. Yato was the main reason Sky Corporation got so big in such a short time, but he wouldn't help it forever. In addition, having your apps advertised in other countries would also be very important for your growth.
'She's not lying.' Sakura felt that Kasumi was telling the truth thanks to her skill.
"Of course. I've been accumulating power for years, so it will be easy to make some moves as long as it doesn't draw too much attention." Kasumi replied with a confident smile.
"So… we have a deal."
Kasumi smiled.
"Deal"
After shaking hands, Sakura decided to leave.
"Here's my number. We'll talk more calmly later," Kasumi said.
"OK." Sakura wrote down her number and left.
…
*Sigh!*
Kasumi looked at her hand which was shaking under her robes.
'What the hell was that?!' She thought with a smile.
Even though she felt very insecure when she felt that overwhelming feeling coming from Sakura, her face was still calm. Insecurity only reveals weaknesses, especially in a negotiation.
'Sakura-san… you're so… different.' Kasumi picked up a book and started to read.
'After I control this school, we can be on the podium together.'